Kenya suffers worst single loss of elephants as poachers kill 12

gallag

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/9787429/Kenya-suffers-worst-single-loss-of-elephants-as-poachers-kill-12.html


So sad, when will the chinese learn to stop buying ivory?

Myrddin

Utter toe rags

judgefudge

donvito99

I blame travellers.

DrumSteve

gallag wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/9787429/Kenya-suffers-worst-single-loss-of-elephants-as-poachers-kill-12.html


So sad, when will the chinese learn to stop buying ivory?

When all the elephants are dead.

franktheplank

donvito99 wrote: »

I blame travellers.

I'm blaming feminists.

MadsL

As sad as poaching is, elephants are not technically endangered any more and have become quite a pest, many reserves now shoot the cows with contraceptive darts to keep numbers down. Seeing the damage elephants do to the bush is quite astonishing, they are quite capable of killing every tree for miles around.

Rhinos on the other hand.

Myrddin

MadsL wrote: »

As sad as poaching is, elephants are not technically endangered any more and have become quite a pest, many reserves now shoot the cows with contraceptive darts to keep numbers down. Seeing the damage elephants do to the bush is quite astonishing, they are quite capable of killing every tree for miles around.

Rhinos on the other hand.

Oh do the native animals damage our man made farms & environments? Aw, poor man...lets kill all the animals!

Seriously though, the sad part about this is not necessarily the killing of innocent & highly intelligent animals...its actually the fact they were killed by the so called smartest animals on the planet in the belief that the ivory tusks will make them last longer in bed & will cure all their diseases.

Fucking pathetic

gallag

MadsL wrote: »

As sad as poaching is, elephants are not technically endangered any more and have become quite a pest, many reserves now shoot the cows with contraceptive darts to keep numbers down. Seeing the damage elephants do to the bush is quite astonishing, they are quite capable of killing every tree for miles around.

Rhinos on the other hand.

The reservation people did not sound to happey about it, they said the matreark elephants killed take to the grave a lot of knowledge about migration routes, water holes etc and it will devastate the remaning herd.

steddyeddy

MadsL wrote: »

As sad as poaching is, elephants are not technically endangered any more and have become quite a pest, many reserves now shoot the cows with contraceptive darts to keep numbers down. Seeing the damage elephants do to the bush is quite astonishing, they are quite capable of killing every tree for miles around.

Rhinos on the other hand.

That's a completely misinformed post.

Outkast_IRE

If it were up to me, i would take the foreign aid we provide governments like Uganda (who just purchased 1.2 billion worth of fighter jets) and use it for projects like protecting endangered wildlife etc.

xzanti

EnterNow wrote: »

Oh do the native animals damage our man made farms & environments? Aw, poor man...lets kill all the animals!

Seriously though, the sad part about this is not necessarily the killing of innocent & highly intelligent animals...its actually the fact they were killed by the so called smartest animals on the planet in the belief that the ivory tusks will make them last longer in bed & will cure all their diseases.

Fucking pathetic

Not to mention that the gestation period for a baby elephant is 22 months.. almost 2 years.. and they are so gentle

Makes me sick to hear of this sort of crap.

dlofnep

EnterNow wrote: »

Oh do the native animals damage our man made farms & environments? Aw, poor man...lets kill all the animals!

Seriously though, the sad part about this is not necessarily the killing of innocent & highly intelligent animals...its actually the fact they were killed by the so called smartest animals on the planet in the belief that the ivory tusks will make them last longer in bed & will cure all their diseases.

Fucking pathetic

I like this guy ^

Myrddin

xzanti wrote: »

Not to mention that the gestational period for a baby elephant is 22 months.. almost 2 years.. and they are so gentle

Makes me sick to hear of this sort of crap.

Indeed. I don't buy into this "but they do damage to the environment" nonsense either. Good ole Ma' Nature got by for a long long time when it comes to destruction caused by animals.

Anyone caught poaching should have to go through the same thing, they should be shot & crippled & all their teeth hacked out and then left there to rot. Simple as.

MaxSteele

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

If it were up to me, i would take the foreign aid we provide governments like Uganda (who just purchased 1.2 billion worth of fighter jets) and use it for projects like protecting endangered wildlife etc.

You're Dead right. The wildlife of Africa is far more deserving of aid than propping up doubling populations who can barely scratch they're holes.

steddyeddy

The Chinese are and other certain parts of Asia create huge demand for ivory for use within religious ceremonies and for bs medical practices. The respective governments have been asked to replace this ivory with other artifacts but they havent complied.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/world/africa/central-africas-wildlife-rangers-face-deadly-risks.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

The above article from the New York Times also indicates that rangers are killed protecting these animals.

Elephants are very intelligent animals with strong family bonds. The mountain gorillas were saved by an violent campaign and the same needs to happen here imo.

cherryghost

MadsL wrote: »

As sad as poaching is, elephants are not technically endangered any more and have become quite a pest, many reserves now shoot the cows with contraceptive darts to keep numbers down. Seeing the damage elephants do to the bush is quite astonishing, they are quite capable of killing every tree for miles around.

Rhinos on the other hand.

Are you the poacher by any chance?

Oranage2

xzanti wrote: »

Not to mention that the gestational period for a baby elephant is 22 months.. almost 2 years.. and they are so gentle

Makes me sick to hear of this sort of crap.

Wild elephants are anything but gentle, they'd kill you out of spite for just being a human.

Myrddin

MaxSteele wrote: »

You're Dead right. The wildlife of Africa is far more deserving of aid than propping up doubling populations who can barely scratch they're holes.

But surely the fighter jets were more important than that no?

steddyeddy

Oranage2 wrote: »

Wild elephants are anything but gentle, they'd kill you out of spite for just being a human.

As do humans.

Myrddin

Oranage2 wrote: »

Wild elephants are anything but gentle, they'd kill you out of spite for just being a human.

Its been seen before that younger elephants who witnessed the poaching of their parents grow up with a massive 'hatred' for humans. Who could blame them? They're wild animals, of course they're distrustful...they have every reason to be.

GLaDOS

cherryghost wrote: »

Are you the poacher by any chance?

His boots are ivory, his hat is ivory, and I'm pretty sure that cheque is ivory.

steddyeddy

Humans justify killing other intelligent animals by saying that other animals kill each other so there's nothing wrong with us wiping them out. Surely those who hold that opinion would agree that they're not any better than the animals that kill each other. The benifits of our humanity give most of us the empathy to recognise the vaule in other forms of life.

An empathy that many attribute to elephants, who have been known to show empathy and mercy towards humans. One case involved a poacher who tried to shoot a ele and missed. The ele rammed the man and broke his leg and the elephant stayed with the man and chased off any other wild animals which tried to attack him. Eles like us and the other great apes have spindle cells which give them an intelligence and emotional capacity like ours.

xzanti

EnterNow wrote: »

Indeed. I don't buy into this "but they do damage to the environment" nonsense either. Good ole Ma' Nature got by for a long long time when it comes to destruction caused by animals.

Anyone caught poaching should have to go through the same thing, they should be shot & crippled & all their teeth hacked out and then left there to rot. Simple as.

I agree 100%.. kneecap the ones caught poaching and send a strong message back to the rest of them.

steddyeddy

Humans do damage to the enviroment on a large scale I take it we should also wipe out the ones who do the most damage?

Oranage2

steddyeddy wrote: »

Humans do damage to the enviroment on a large scale I take it we should also wipe out the ones who do the most damage?

Are you on our side or are you on their side?

Just to let you know man you're starting to sound like an elly sympathizer!

steddyeddy

Oranage2 wrote: »

Are you on our side or are you on their side?

Just to let you know man you're starting to sound like an elly sympathizer!

Indeed I am. Ele's show more empathy than a lot of humans.

Myrddin

steddyeddy wrote: »

The benifits of our humanity give most of us the empathy to recognise the vaule in other forms of life.

This.

mel.b

This is just incredibly tragic news i went to Kenya on Safari at the end of 2011 and was lucky enough to see elephants in the wild. Our tour leader told us that the Kenya governement has contracted out the building of new roads in remote oarts of Kenya to Chinese companies, who bring in Chinese workers. These Chinese workers soon learn they can earn a hell of a lot more from killing an elephant than they ever will from helping build a road :mad:

Not only are these elephants lost forever, but it's more than likely some of them had babies. Elephants calfs are dependent on their mothers for the first two years of life so unless they have the great fortune to be rescued in time they will die also. Any almost half of the baby elephants that are rescued still pass away, because they were too malnourished too be saved, too young and some die just from the grief, stress and depression of witnessing and loosing their families.

To help combatnthis,nyou can sponser a baby elephant with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust based in Kenya. It is just $50 USD a year (it costs DSWT $9000 USD a year to raise a baby elephant). They were the first people to learn how to rear orphaned elephants (read the story the elephant they raised when they discovered the correct milk formula for them - you will need a box of tissues handy) and do amazing work in raising them and eventually returning them to the wild. I was lucky enough to visit them when i was in Kenya and the work they do is incredible.

www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

There is also an iworry petition you can sign against the ivory trade...http://www.iworry.org/

Rocket19

steddyeddy wrote: »

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/world/africa/central-africas-wildlife-rangers-face-deadly-risks.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

That article is really shocking. It's incredible how ruthless people can be.

3ndahalfof6

gallag wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/9787429/Kenya-suffers-worst-single-loss-of-elephants-as-poachers-kill-12.html


So sad, when will the chinese learn to stop buying ivory?

Probably about the same time they decide to stop killing most species they have brought to the brink of extinction, the rat is the winner here.

Professey Chin

steddyeddy wrote: »

That's a completely misinformed post.

I just call it bullshit

Magill

Damn chinks !

Oranage2

mel.b wrote: »

This is just incredibly tragic news i went to Kenya on Safari at the end of 2011 and was lucky enough to see elephants in the wild. Our tour leader told us that the Kenya governement has contracted out the building of new roads in remote oarts of Kenya to Chinese companies, who bring in Chinese workers. These Chinese workers soon learn they can earn a hell of a lot more from killing an elephant than they ever will from helping build a road :mad:

Not only are these elephants lost forever, but it's more than likely some of them had babies. Elephants calfs are dependent on their mothers for the first two years of life so unless they have the great fortune to be rescued in time they will die also. Any almost half of the baby elephants that are rescued still pass away, because they were too malnourished too be saved, too young and some die just from the grief, stress and depression of witnessing and loosing their families.

To help combatnthis,nyou can sponser a baby elephant with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust based in Kenya. It is just $50 USD a year (it costs DSWT $9000 USD a year to raise a baby elephant). They were the first people to learn how to rear orphaned elephants (read the story the elephant they raised when they discovered the correct milk formula for them - you will need a box of tissues handy) and do amazing work in raising them and eventually returning them to the wild. I was lucky enough to visit them when i was in Kenya and the work they do is incredible.

www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

There is also an iworry petition you can sign against the ivory trade...http://www.iworry.org/

That sounds amazing, i can only imagine the delight on the local children's faces seeing a baby elephant being looked after for 9k as they starve to death.

Scarinae

MadsL wrote: »

As sad as poaching is, elephants are not technically endangered any more and have become quite a pest, many reserves now shoot the cows with contraceptive darts to keep numbers down. Seeing the damage elephants do to the bush is quite astonishing, they are quite capable of killing every tree for miles around.

The 'damage' that elephants do to the bush is actually an important part of the ecosystem. Yes, they uproot shrubs and strip bark, but they have been doing so for around three million years and it can actually increase biodiversity.

Oranage2 wrote: »

Wild elephants are anything but gentle, they'd kill you out of spite for just being a human.

Have you ever been anywhere near a wild elephant? This is a genuine question. I have stood unprotected while a wild bull elephant walked within ten metres of me, and it didn't try to attack or kill me, it just walked past. The only time I've been in any way threatened by an elephant was when we drove around a corner and surprised a mother and its baby, it had signs that it was going to charge do we just drove away quickly. Elephants will attack if they feel threatened or they are protecting their young, not 'out of spite' - they are extraordinarily intelligent animals

Having said that, there have been other times where I have been very close to mother and baby elephants and they haven't paid any attention to us, we even saw a baby suckling once and the mother wasn't bothered at all that we were so near.

MaxSteele

Oranage2 wrote: »

That sounds amazing, i can only imagine the delight on the local children's faces seeing a baby elephant being looked after for 9k as they starve to death.

It is isn't it ? At least those children won't grow up to start poaching defenceless elephants anyway.

MadsL

Fcks sake people enough with the hate, all I said was that elephant populations have recovered to the point that many game reservations now control growth in population. Overpopulation by elephants is incredibly destructive in certain areas.

cherryghost wrote: »

Are you the poacher by any chance?

Yes. Yes I am. I am also Lord Vader. :rolleyes:

EnterNow wrote: »

Oh do the native animals damage our man made farms & environments? Aw, poor man...lets kill all the animals!

That's clearly not what I said. I assume you prefer not to live infested with rats for instance.

Seriously though, the sad part about this is not necessarily the killing of innocent & highly intelligent animals...its actually the fact they were killed by the so called smartest animals on the planet in the belief that the ivory tusks will make them last longer in bed & will cure all their diseases.

And this is why we ban ivory.

steddyeddy wrote: »

That's a completely misinformed post.

You seem to have the posting part of a discussion board down, want to try for the other part, y'know actually discussing.

In park areas, like in Kenya, savannah elephants are not endangered, but are a vunerable species. Poaching however has diminished and the species is recovering.

Care to tell me what is misinformed about that?

DrumSteve

Magill wrote: »

Damn chinks !

Ah no need for that now.

MadsL

Scarinae wrote: »

The 'damage' that elephants do to the bush is actually an important part of the ecosystem. Yes, they uproot shrubs and strip bark, but they have been doing so for around three million years and it can actually increase biodiversity.

I was referring to park (enclosed) environments and relative overpopulation.

MadsL

DrumSteve wrote: »

Ah no need for that now.

Grand bunch o'lads!

WindSock

On a good note though, I see a surge in sales of my 'Poach eggs, not Elephants' t-shirt line.

gobnaitolunacy

Magill wrote: »

Damn chinks !

Whitey did a fairly good job of killing thousands of elephants before the ban for......piano keys.

Noel Kinsella

Oranage2 wrote: »

That sounds amazing, i can only imagine the delight on the local children's faces seeing a baby elephant being looked after for 9k as they starve to death.

Its not the Elephants fault they are starving its their government.

MadsL

Noel Kinsella wrote: »

Its not the Elephants fault they are starving its their government.

Yes, famine in Africa is caused by African Governments. Now eat up all your dinner and think of the black babies.


Mother of God.

Noel Kinsella

MadsL wrote: »

Yes, famine in Africa is caused by African Governments. Now eat up all your dinner and think of the black babies.


Mother of God.

So you are condoning the murder of elephants so a handful of people can get rich ? I doubt the poachers are feeding the starving.

Mother of God.

gallag

gallag wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/9787429/Kenya-suffers-worst-single-loss-of-elephants-as-poachers-kill-12.html


So sad, when will the chinese learn to stop buying ivory?

When their cocks grow.

They grind it up and snort it as viagra.

MadsL

Noel Kinsella wrote: »

So you are condoning the murder of elephants so a handful of people can get rich ?

Ah for fucks sake, I never condoned poaching, nor do I.

Read my posts please.

Maybe I should have just responded..."Ah, the poor eles, like if it meks u cry evrytim". Seriously, me commenting that in park areas of Kenya elephant numbers are controlled is not, nor will it ever be, condoning poaching.

And while you are up in arms, you might want to check the fact that Irish farmers and rough shooters have shot the curlew almost to extinction
http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Publications/eWings/eWingsIssue22July2011/CatastrophicCurlewdeclinesuncovered/tabid/1189/Default.aspx

I doubt the poachers are feeding the starving.

Also in fact licenced and controlled elephant shoots are helping to provide vital money, aid and food for African villages.

liammur

This is a huge problem. I saw a documentary on it before, a rhino, game keepers cut off his horn so poachers wouldn't kill him, then it couldn't protect itself from lions. Catch 22



Bloody savages.

Myrddin

MadsL wrote: »

Yes, famine in Africa is caused by African Governments. Now eat up all your dinner and think of the black babies.


Mother of God.

It always amazes me that for such poor countries in Africa, they can afford to spend such colossal amounts of money on their military. If your naive enough to think most of these countries don't squander huge amounts of money to serve their own means, that really is a Mother of God moment.

The annual military budget of Ethiopia is over a quarter or a billion dollars. You'd think that'd feed a lot of those 'black babies' as you so eloquently put it wouldn't you?

Some folks need to open their eyes a little wider, and try see a picture bigger than the one ignorance paints.

BraziliaNZ

I really hate this high horse crap. Put yourself in an Africans shoes. No work, no money, no food. I'd probably be out killing rhinos and elephants and what not in that situation.
Why do you think only rich Westerners give a crap about animals? Because we have it all. We're far more responsible for raping the earth with the amount of stuff we consume, which means forests are cut down, palm oil plantations, etc, just so we can have year round crops of everything, and the latest gadgets and computers. Half the vegetables in Tesco, at least here in the UK, seem to come from Kenya for e.g.
Westerners are far more greedy than a few Africans hunting an elephant.

liammur

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

I really hate this high horse crap. Put yourself in an Africans shoes. No work, no money, no food. I'd probably be out killing rhinos and elephants and what not in that situation.
Why do you think only rich Westerners give a crap about animals? Because we have it all. We're far more responsible for raping the earth with the amount of stuff we consume, which means forests are cut down, palm oil plantations, etc, just so we can have year round crops of everything, and the latest gadgets and computers. Half the vegetables in Tesco, at least here in the UK, seem to come from Kenya for e.g.
Westerners are far more greedy than a few Africans hunting an elephant.

The basic point you are missing is, all the people here are very much against just what you wrote. Killing innocent elephants isn't right just because others are cutting down forests.